25 Nov What Exactly Is a Call to Action?
One of our specialties is getting potential clients and customers to your website. Even in today’s crowded digital world, we are innovative and successful at getting qualified traffic to you.
If that were enough to sustain a business we’d all be rich! Unfortunately, once visitors click through to your website, they still need to become actual leads. If your website doesn’t clearly guide them through the actions you would like for them to take, they may get confused and leave the site. Or they may be overwhelmed with the amount of information available, with no clear navigation on where they should start.
That’s where a call to action fits in. It helps you take responsibility for how visitors are interacting with your website.
What exactly is a call to action? It is an image or line of text that prompts your visitors to take action.
According to Hubspot:
“Depending on your conversion goals, calls to action can represent a range of small commitments (asking visitors to sign up to your email newsletter, demo a product, etc.) to large ones (renew their monthly subscription, recommend you to a friend, etc.)”
It’s not complicated, you simply need to define the step you want your visitors to take and then give them the easiest way possible to do so. Having no call to action can cost you leads, customers and sales.
Effective calls to action rely on a combination of copywriting and design principles. Both are important for your conversions because they answer different questions on your visitors’ minds.
Your call to action should not just be a button; you need to tell visitors exactly what to do next. Visitors are on your website looking for information and solutions.
Effective calls to action take guesswork out of the equation. Instead of putting the burden on visitors to figure out how to further the relationship, they give them a clear action step of what to do next.
While generic “sign up” messages are still a call to action, they are not specifically telling your visitors how they will benefit. With so many websites begging for our email addresses, visitors need to know the fundamental question: What’s In It For Me? No one will be convinced to share their personal information unless they’re crystal clear on what they’re getting in return. Instead of “Sign up for my email list,” try “Get free weekly marketing tips.”
That’s why effective calls to action tend to be benefits-oriented. The focus shifts to what the visitor gains from taking the action instead of the action itself. For instance, a request to “Sign up to our email list” becomes “Get weekly marketing tips.” Other examples could include, “Be included on our VIP waiting list” or “Start your free trial today.”
Remember to make it as easy as possible for users to take the next step. Don’t make them fill out too many complicated forms or have to search for where to click next. If you need help setting up your website with a strong call to action, contact us and we’ll be happy to help!
